ANNAPOLIS, Md. – A pair of quick goals from American to open the second half halted the Navy men's soccer team's postseason chances on Tuesday night, as a comeback attempt from the Midshipmen (4-8-4, 3-5-1 PL) fell short in a 3-1 loss to the Eagles (5-5-7, 4-2-3 PL) in their regular-season finale at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility.
 
With Tuesday's defeat, Navy was eliminated from Patriot League Tournament contention, while American's victory secured its berth as the No. 3 seed in the league's quarterfinal round on Saturday.
 
Despite the Mids having a wide shot advantage in the opening half, the Eagles' Sebastian Garces scored just 24 seconds after halftime to break the scoreless battle and Troy Elgersma added insurance at 53', but junior A.J. Schuetz gave Navy hope with a 67th-minute tally before a penalty-kick goal at 84' from Sam Hershey essentially sealed the game's fate.
 
With just one shot in the first 25 minutes of action, Navy pushed as the opening half wore on with a trio of chances in the 27th minute, capped off with sophomore Nate Stewart's shot off a corner kick going wide. Continuing to attack the AU net, senior captain Charlie Kriel had an attempt blocked at 34' and freshman Duncan Sullivan got his own chance mere seconds later off a corner but his shot mis-hit high, while Schuetz put a shot off-target as time expired on the half.
 
Driving towards the net right out of halftime, American generated its first shot of the night at 46' when Reyes Parra was stopped by a diving Pierce Holbrook and the rebound opportunity for Elgersma was saved by a Navy defender, but the second rebound was finally buried by Garces past Holbrook. A pressing Navy team then committed a turnover in its own end at 53', as Dilane Zouantcha took the ball and crossed a pass to Elgersma, who put the shot into the top corner and extended the lead.
 
Holbrook then made a pair of saves as the Mids' settled themselves, denying Jared Weber at 60' and Parra at 63', before a Stewart shot was blocked at the other end in the 66th minute. Maintaining possession, Navy finally got on the board at 67' when Schuetz carried the ball up and broke towards the middle of the 18-yard line, launching a shot into the corner past Matthew Tibbetts. Schuetz nearly tied the contest two minutes later when his shot towards the top of the net was deflected over the crossbar by Tibbetts, while a close-range shot from junior Andrew Schug was blocked out at 70'.
 
With American weathering the tide, a Navy handball in the box at 84' set the stage for Hershey to ice the game, beating Holbrook to the right post and retaking the two-goal lead for AU. Navy tried to the end, with Schuetz putting another shot off-target at 89', but Tibbetts and his defenders held strong to preserve the win and clinch the Eagles' fifth-straight postseason berth.
 
Tibbetts finished with two saves, while Holbrook ended his collegiate career with a three-save performance.
 
Coach Tim O'Donohue Post-Game Comments
"We played an excellent first half, leading 9-0 in shots and generating good chances. We didn't take advantage of those opportunities, while American countered by taking advantage of their chances early in the second half.  This group fought back but we lacked the final product, and we're disappointed to make it into the playoffs. I'm proud of this senior class, they have accomplished so much and have been such an important part of our program the past four years. They'll do well in the fleet and in their future endeavors beyond that."
 
Match Notes
• Navy is now 13-17-9 in the all-time series with American.
• Tuesday marked the first time Navy has lost when Schuetz records a goal.
• With 208 career saves, Holbrook is only the third Navy goalkeeper to reach the 200-save plateau, joining Brian Steckroth (1998-2001) and T.J. Grady (1992-95).
• Kriel finishes his career by starting in each of Navy's 75 games over the last four seasons.